Impact

Everything we do and every action we take is geared toward safeguarding the best interests of children, enhancing the adoption experience and sustaining families – while achieving equitable treatment for everyone within the extended family of adoption.

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We know that news coverage and access to timely information drive awareness and, ultimately, the ability to influence positive change. Widely recognized as a leading authority on issues related to adoption, DAI is often featured in major media outlets. We also monitor, and share, developments in adoption and foster care policy, research, resources, as well as news, to keep practitioners, advocates, and those touched by adoption informed.

New law allows adoptees to request once-sealed birth records

The Columbus Dispatch - 03/21/2015

Of the states that have so far opened records to adoptees, Norris said, Ohio has the most. The state expects tens of thousands of requests in the coming weeks and months. After an application is processed, the adoptee likely will receive the file by mail within three to four weeks. Claudia Vercellotti, 45, of Toledo, was first in yesterday’s line, which snaked along the sidewalk outside the Vital Statistics Office on Neilston Street Downtown. While a few hundred adoptees and supporters participated in a march to the agency, Vercellotti had only to get out of her car and walk to the door. She’d been there all night.

Startling Case of “Rehoming” Unwanted Children Rattles Adoption World

Nonprofit Quaterly - 03/20/2015

Despite fervent objections to the practice, which adoption activist John M. Simmons calls “a monstrous act,” the practice is legal to the extent that it is not expressly prohibited. Many states like Wisconsin, Florida, Louisiana, and Colorado have begun passing laws to address the rehousing of adopted children. A previous alarming investigative report by Reuters and NBC News has explored the underground online world of rehoming as a feeding ground for sexual predators. Many of the rehomed children investigated were internationally adopted, had mental or physical disabilities, or had been abused.

New Law Opens Access to Adoptees’ Birth Certificates

abc News - 03/20/2015

The law that took effect Friday finally opens the records for those 1964-1996 adoptees. It also gives birth parents the ability to say whether they want to be contacted, and allows birth parents to update their medical information through the state. “It’s about adoptees having the civil right to information that all other Americans can have about themselves,” Norris said. “It’s a social justice issue.” Ohio is the ninth state to make all its records available to adoptees, she said.

Dear Elton John, It’s Not All About You

The Lost Daughters - 03/19/2015

We are all conceived when an egg from one woman is fertilized by a sperm from one man. This woman is the biological mother. This man is the biological father. They are not inconsequential. These facts do not change, no matter how many other parents a person may have.

‘Dear Future Baby': Aspiring dads sing love song to future child

Today - 03/19/2015

Charming for certain, but will their video plea help? April Dinwoodie is chief executive of the Donaldson Adoption Institute, an organization that works to better the lives of all persons involved in the adoption process. She said that while videos and online appeals for adoption have changed certain aspects of the process, it’s important to protect the privacy of all parties involved.

Florida lawmakers consider law that would tie adoptions to agencies’ religious beliefs

The Florida Times-Union - 03/19/2015

But critics questioned the wisdom — and constitutionality — of the bill backed by Brodeur’s Republican-dominated committee. “I have a hard time seeing the need for this,” said Rep. Lori Berman, D-Lantana. “Religious freedom is not a license to deny vulnerable children loving parents.” The “conscience protection” bill would prevent the state from denying funds or licenses to private adoption agencies that refuse to make placements conflicting with the agencies’ written religious beliefs.

Facebook disables ‘rehoming’ adopted children page

The Washington Times - 03/19/2015

The announcement came after a lengthy UK news report about three Ethiopian children who had been adopted by American families, and then shuttled off to new families found on the Internet… The now-disabled Facebook page had 244 members, who presumably were offering or asking for children, Channel 4 News noted.

Ohio adoptees can unlock their past on Friday

Cleveland.com - 03/19/2015

For the past 51 years that access was granted only by court order. Birth certificates for adoptions prior to 1964 and after 1996 have been available on request. Ohio now joins 17 other states with varying degrees of access to original birth certificates. Proposed laws providing that access are pending in nine states.

Where are you, Mom? Adoptees search for roots

The Herald - 03/18/2015

So far, no leads. But adoptees who wish to connect with their blood relatives accept that the hunt will not be easy… She is building patience. She has dampened expectations. But her bridge to the past needs a middle.

Fewer children are being adopted from the NYC foster system as eligible kids increase

Daily News - 03/18/2015

Fewer kids are getting adopted out of the city foster care system – even as more are waiting for new parents. There were 266 adoptions in the first four months of this fiscal year, down from 339 last year – a 22% drop that sparked concern at a City Council hearing Tuesday.